CHAPTER- 5 What Books and Burials Tell Us  Important Questions & MCQs | CLASS 6th | Social Science History | NCERT| EDUGROWN

Very Short Answer Type

Question 1.
For which three things in Rigveda were the prayers performed especially?
Answer:
There are many prayers in the Rigveda for (a) Cattle, (b) Children (especially for sons), and (c) horses, which were yoked to Chariots. Chariots were used in battles.

Question 2.
Write the names of three vish or jana, as mentioned in the Rigveda.
Answer:
Several vish or jana are mentioned by name in the Rigveda. The three names given in it are:

1. The Puru jana or vish,
2. The Bharata jana or vish, and
3. The Yadu jana or vish.

Question 3.
Write important historical events or development against the following dates/years:

1. About 3500 years ago.
2. About 3000 years ago.
3. Between 3600 and 2700 years ago.
4. About 2000 years ago.

Answer:

Question 4.
Mention one achievement of the Chinese around 3500 years ago.
Answer:
Around 3500 years ago, we find some of the first evidence of writing in China.

Question 5.
Write the meaning and use of oracle bones in China.
Answer:

• Animal bones were called oracle bones in ancient China.
• Oracle bones were used to predict the future.

Question 6.
List the names of rivers mentioned in Vedas.
Answer:

• Beas
• Sutlej
• Indus
• Sarasvati
• Ganga and
• Yamuna.

Question 7.
Write words used to describe the people in Vedic Age.
Answer:
Two words were used to describe the people or the community as a whole. These words were (1) Jana and (2) Vish.

Question 8.
Discuss in brief three vedic gods, considered especially important.
Answer:
Three gods which are considered especially important in the Vedas are:

1.  Agni,
2. Indra and
3. Soma.

1. Agni, the god of fire.
2. Indra, a warrior god.
3. Soma, a plant from which a special drink was prepared.

What Books and Burials Tell Us Class 6 Extra Questions Short Answer Type

Question 1.
Name one of the oldest books in the world. Write a few sentences about this book.
Answer:

• The Rigveda is one of the oldest books in the world.
• It was composed about 3500 years ago.
• The Rigveda includes more than a thousand hymns, called sukta or well said songs of praise.
• These are in praise of various gods and goddesses.
• These hymns were composed by sages (rishis).
• Most of the hymns were composed, taught and learnt by men. Only a few were composed by women.
• The Rigveda is in old or Vedic Sanskrit, which is different from the Sanskrit that students learn in school these days.

Question 2.
For which three things were battles fought by the Rigvedic age people?
Answer:

1. Battles were fought to capture cattle.
2. Battles were also fought for land, which was important for pasture, and for growing hardy crops that ripened quickly, such as barley.
3. Some battles were fought for water, and to capture people.

Question 3.
What was the fate of booty or looted wealth during the battle or war days?
Answer:

• Some of the looted wealth (or booty) obtained was kept by the leaders.
• Some portion of looted wealth was given to priests (brahmins).
• The rest of the looted wealth was distributed amongst the people.
• Some wealth (looted in the war or battles) was used for the performance of yajanas or sacrifices in which offerings were made into the fire. These were meant for gods and goddesses. Offerings could include ghee, grain and in some cases animals.

Question 4.
Write any three main common features of war of the Rigvedic age.
Answer:

1. Most men took part in wars during the Rigvedic age.
2. As there was no regular army, but there were assemblies where people met and discussed matters of war and peace.
3. The Assemblies also chose leaders, brave and skilful warriors.

Question 5.
Write main social differences as have been found out by the Archaeologists in megaliths.
Answer:
Finding out about Social Differences

1. Archaeologists think that objects found with a skeleton probably belonged to the dead person. Sometimes more objects were found in one grave than in another. For example, in Brahmagiri one skeleton was buried with 33 gold beads, 2 stone beads, 4 copper bangles, and one conch shel

2. Other skeletons found out from the graves had only a few pots. Perhaps there was some difference in status amongst the people who were buried. Perhaps some were rich while others poor, some chiefs while others followers.

Question 6.
Were some burial spots meant for certain families? If yes, give some facts about your answer. (NCERT Page 49)
Answer:
Yes, some burial spots were definitely meant for certain families. We can give the following facts to prove our answer:

1. Sometimes, megaliths, contained more than one skeleton. These indicated that people, perhaps belonging to the same family, were buried in the same place though not at the same time. The bodies of those who died later were brought into the grave through the port-holes.

2. Stone circles or boulders on the surface probably served as sign posts to find the burial site so that people could return to the same place whenever they wanted to.

Question 7.
Who was Charaka? What is the name of his work? Describe one of his contributions in regard of the human body.
Answer:

• Charaka was a famous ancient Indian Physician. He was related with about 2000 years ago time.
• Charaka wrote a book on medical science known as the Charaka Samhita.
• Charaka has stated in his book that the human body has 360 bones. This is a much larger number than the 200 bones that are recognized in modem anatomy. Charaka arrived at this figure by counting the teeth, joints and cartilage.

Question 8.
Discuss “Food at Inamgaon” as archaeologists have found different proofs from different sites.
Answer:
Food at Inamgaon:
1. Archaeologists have found seeds of wheat, barley, rice, pulses, millets, pea and sesame at Inamgaon.

2. Bones of a number of animals, bearing cut mark’s that show they may have been used as food, have also been found. These include buffalo, goat, sheep, dog, horse, ass, pig, sambhar, spotted deer, blackbuck, antelope, hare, and mongoose, birds, crocodile, turtle, crab and fish.

3. There is evidence that fruits such as her, amla, jamun, dates and a variety of berries were collected.

Question 9.
How were the oracle bones used by the Kings in China?
Answer:
Kings of China got scribes to write questions on the bones of animals (called oracle bones).
For example:

• Would they (the kings) win battles?
• Would the harvest be good?
• Would they have sons? The bones were then put into the fire, and they – cracked because of the heat.

Fortune-tellers studied the cracks of oracle bones. They tried to predict the future. They sometimes made mistakes also.

Question 10.
Write some features of the kings of the ancient China.
Answer:

• The ancient kings of China lived in palaces in cities.
• The kings amassed vast quantities of wealth, including large, elaborately decorated bronze vessels.
• The ancient Chinese kings did not know the use of iron.

Question 11.
Describe the word Aryas and Dasas (or Dasyus) used for the people.
Answer:
1. Aryas. Sometimes, the people who composed the hymns described themselves as Aryas.

2. Dasas or Dasyus. Aryas called their Opponents, Dasas or Dasyus. These were people who did not perform yajana (sacrifices) and probably spoke different languages (other than Sanskrit).

Question 12.
Who were slaves in vedic society? Write a very short note about them.
Answer:
During later Vedic Age, the term dasa (and the feminine dasi) came to mean slave. Slaves were men and women who were generally captured in war. They were treated as the property of their owners (or masters) who could make them do whatever work they desired.

What Books and Burials Tell Us Class 6 Extra Questions Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Describe different classes or categories of people as referred or described in Rigveda.
Answer:
Words of the Rigveda to describe different classes or categories of the people:

1. There are several ways of describing people—in the terms of the work they do, the language they speak, the place they belong to, their family, their communities and cultural practices.

2. Broadly speaking, we can confess that there are two groups (of people) who are described in terms of their work—the priests, sometimes called brahmins, who performed various rituals for the rajas. These rajas were not like the ones you will be learning about later (in coming chapters). They did not have capital cities or armies, nor did they collect taxes. Generally, sons did not succeed fathers automatically.

3. Two words were used (in the Rigveda) to describe people or the community as a whole. One was the word jana, which we still use in Hindi and other languages. The other was Vish. The word Vaishya comes from Vish.

Question 2.
How do we know who was buried?
Answer:
We know who was buried in the grave with the help of following clues:

1. It is easy to check out the skeleton of a child from its small size. However, there are no major skeletal differences between a girl and a boy.

2. We can check out whether a skeleton was that of a man or a woman also. We can decide this thing on the basis of what is found with the skeleton. For example, if a skeleton is found with jewellery, it is sometimes thought to be that of a woman. However, there are problems with this. Generally, men also wore ornaments.

3. A better (or more reliable) way of figuring out the sex of a skeleton as to look at the bone structure. The hip or the pelvic area of women is generally larger to enable child bearing.

Question 3.
Give a brief account of major features of a Special Burial found at Inamgaon.
Answer:
A Special Burial found at Inamgaon and its Major Features
1. At Inamgaon the scholars have found out a special burial. It is a site on the river Ghod, a tributary of the Bhima. It was occupied between 3600 and 2700 years ago.

2. Here, adults were often buried in the ground, laid out straight, with the head towards the north.

3. Sometimes, burials were within houses. Vessels that probably contained food and water were placed with the dead.

4. One man was found buried in a large four legged clay jar in the courtyard of a five- roomed house (one of the largest houses at the site) in the centre of the settlement. This house also had a granary. The body was placed in a cross-legged position.

Question 4.
Write a short note on one of the oldest books in the world.
Answer:

• Vedas are known one of the oldest books in the world.
• There are four of them—the Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda.
• The oldest veda is the Rigveda, composed about 3500 years ago.
• The Rigveda includes more than a thousand hymns, called sukta or “well-said’. These hymns are in praise of different gods and goddesses.
• These hymns were composed by sages (i.e., rishis).
• These vedas are written in Vedic Sanskrit. The Vedic or old Sanskrit is different from the Sanskrit that you learn in school these days.

Question 5.
Mention some of the important features of the Rigveda. (Most Imp.)
Answer:

• The oldest Veda is the Rigveda.
• It was composed about 3500 years ago.
• The Rigveda is in old or Vedic Sanskrit, which is different from the Sanskrit that you learn in school these days.
• The Rigveda includes more than a thousand hymns, called sukta or well-said.
• These hymns are in praise of various gods and goddesses.
• The Rigveda was recited and heard rather than written or read.
• The Rigveda was written down several centuries after it was first composed and printed less than 200 years ago.

Question 6.
Write a short note on the megaliths.
Answer:

• Silent sentinels or stone boulders are known as megaliths (literally meaning big stones).
• Megaliths were carefully arranged by people and were used to mark burial sites.
• The practice of erecting megaliths began about 3000 years ago, and was prevalent throughout the Deccan, South India, in the north-east and Kashmir.
• While some megaliths can be seen on the surface, other megalithic burials are
  underground.

What Books and Burials Tell Us Class 6 Extra Questions Multiple Choice Questions

Choose the correct answer:

Question 1.
Which of the following is the oldest Veda?
(a) Samaveda
(b) Yajurveda
(c) Rigveda
(d) Atharvaveda
Answer:
Rigveda

Question 2.
Who is the ‘god of fire’ according to Rigveda?
(a) Agni
(b) Indra
(c) Soma
(d) None of these
Answer:
Agni

Question 3.
In which language is ‘The Rigveda’ written?
(a) Vedic Sanskrit
(b) Vedic Hindi
(c) Vedic Tamil
(d) None of these
Answer:
Vedic Sanskrit

Question 4.
Which of the two rivers are studied in the Rigveda?
(a) Ganga and Yamuna
(b) Beas and Sutlej
(c) Saraswati and Brahmaputra
(d) All of these
Answer:
Beas and Sutlej

Question 5.
When was the Rigveda written?
(a) About 3500 years ago
(b) About 1000 years ago
(c) About 500 years ago
(d) About 1500 years ago
Answer:
About 3500 years ago

Question 6.
On which bark was the Rigveda written?
(a) Neem Bark
(b) Cinkona Bark
(c) Tulsi Bark
(d) Birch Bark
Answer:
Birch Bark

Question 7.
Where is birch bark found? In.
(a) Maharashtra
(b) Pune
(c) Delhi
(d) Kashmir
Answer:
Kashmir

Question 8.
Who were the Priests in the ancient time?
(a) Brahmins
(b) Sikhs
(c) Muslims
(d) None of these
Answer:
Brahmins

Question 9.
Which were the two words used to describe the people or the community as a whole?
(a) Jana and Vish
(b) Aryas and Dasas
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) None of these
Answer:
Jana and Vish

Question 10.
In which region was the Rigveda composed?
(a) North-east
(b) North-west
(c) North-south
(d) Western-east
Answer:
North-west

Question 11.
When the dead body was buried with gold beads it means that the dead man was Fill in the blank with suitable word chosen from the following:
(a) rich man
(b) poor man
(c) chief
(d) follower
Answer:
rich man

Question 12.
The evidence of which fruits were found?
(a) Ber, Amla, Jamun
(b) Mango
(c) Apple
(d) All of these
Answer:
Ber, Amla, Jamun